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Faculty Publications Department of Geography & Anthropology

1-1-2020

Charros: How Mexican Cowboys are Remapping Race and American Identity

Andrew Sluyter

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/geoanth_pubs

Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Geography Commons Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons

Faculty Publications LSU Libraries

1-1-2020

Charros: How Mexican Cowboys are Remapping Race and American Identity

Andrew Sluyter

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/libraries_pubs

Part of the Geography Commons 104 R. Kitchin et al. / Journal of Historical Geography 67 (2020) 91e107 such examinations, yet studies of this form miss marginalized that now places them at the center of Hispanic cultural politics in viewpoints and recreate the narratives of those who held power. the USA. Though outside the immediate scope of the book, a bit of discussion The introductory chapter explicates the origins of charro culture on if and how the positionally of this famous playwright frames his in colonial Mexico. The vaqueros who tended the herds of cattle and representations of an epoch of territory could hint at the existence the land owners they worked for engaged in charreadas that of alternative, co-existing ideas on territory. Do Shakespearean involved equestrian competitions based on the practices used to plays, which Elden notes might not have been written solely by control and roundup cattle. But only after the Mexican revolution Shakespeare, provide an archive on territorial thinking that is of the early twentieth century, in which charros such as Emiliano representative of the time and place of Shakespeare? What other Zapata fought against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, did charro narratives might have existed? culture emerge as a self-conscious movement to glamorize ranch Regardless of these two relatively small points in which some life as one of the major repositories of national identity. Signifi- additional discussion could be informative, this book provides a cantly, the events involved in charreadas contrast with those of unique view into how territory was thought of in Europe during US rodeos that emerged in the nineteenth century as part of a Shakespeare's time. Alongside his two other books on territory, similar process of national identity construction. Although similar Elden has created an extraordinary account of the concept of terri- in many ways, rodeos feature cowboys who compete against each tory. Over the last ten years or so, there has been an uptick of other as individuals in a series of events such as calf roping while focused work on the concept and practice of territory, particularly in charreadas teams of charros compete against other teams. Simi- within critical and feminist geopolitics and within Latin American larly, Anglo cowboys typically wear utilitarian clothes while charros studies. Shakespearean Territories adds to this rethinking of terri- wear embroidered and ornamented pants, short jackets, and wide- tory. Moreover, within the broad discipline of human geography, brimmed hats. Female charras likewise wear short jackets and textual analyses (e.g. maps, cartoons, and political speeches), have wide-brimmed hats but match them with colorful, ankle-length often provided a key source of examination. However, literature skirts. and plays have been a lesser focus. Elden's analysis of Shake- Following that introduction, five chapters present case studies spearean plays not only provides a keen analysis of changing con- of major aspects of charro cultural politics. They range from Los ceptualizations of territory, but also introduces or reminds Angeles, California, across the Southwest to San Antonio, Texas, geographers of the value of literature as a analytical approach. and as far north as Denver, Colorado. They cover the florescence Lastly, as the audience for this book includes scholars and students of charro culture as Hispanic communities, whether settled across of Shakespeare too, this book inserts geographical analyses into dis- the Southwest since Spanish colonial times or more recent immi- ciplines in the humanities. In summary, I highly recommend this grants from Mexico, began wearing the distinctive charro costume book to advanced students and scholars of territory and in patriotic parades in the 1920s to signal their aspirations for an Shakespeare. America inclusive of their ethnic identity. Formal charro associa- tions emerged in the late 1940s as influential mutual aid societies Karen Culcasi that organized a wide variety of community celebrations and char- West Virginia University, USA itable events featuring charro culture, as well overlapping in mem- E-mail address: [email protected]. bership and activities with Hispanic chambers of commerce to promote the development of their neighborhoods. Moreover, char- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2020.01.003 ros were by then participating alongside cowboys on the rodeo cir- cuit, as well as in their own charreadas. By the 1960s, an independent charreada circuit thrived, with charro teams from across the Southwest and Mexico participating. As charro associa- Charros: How Mexican Cowboys are Remapping Race and Amer- tions proliferated in succeeding decades, they became a force ican Identity, Laura R. Barraclough. University of California within the civil rights movement that helped to elect Hispanic pol- Press, Oakland (2019). 304 pages, US$85.00 hardcover iticians. Throughout that process, charro associations have con- fronted challenges related to access to public space and animal The polarized debate over American national identity between welfare while empowering millions of Americans to nurture trans- advocates for multiculturalism versus those for a homogenous cul- national connections with Mexicans while asserting their element tural core often focuses on issues of Mexican ethnicity and immi- of a multicultural national identity. gration, especially in Southwestern states with large populations One of the greatest challenges involved in countering any ortho- of Hispanic origin. This innovative book by Laura Barraclough, an doxy, of course, involves resisting the urge to create a new one. already accomplished historical geographer of the peoples and pla- Demonstrating that charros are as integral to the multicultural na- ces of California, presents a particularly insightful intervention into tional identity of America as cowboys can result in the elision of that debate. The cowboy of the Western frontier in the nineteenth other diverse actors. Barraclough, for example, relies on an century, after all, has long encapsulated the ideals most fervently outdated literature on the establishment of cattle ranching during espoused by those who define American identity as unified around colonial times that privileges the roles of Europeans. The latest Anglo ethnicity, whiteness, and individualism. Barraclough's scholarship, in contrast, demonstrates that some of the key ele- research challenges that view with meticulous interpretation of ments of both cowboy and charro culture have African roots. Roping primary documents to reveal a different type of cowboy, the charro, cattle from horseback, for example, emerged among enslaved equally as present as the stereotypical cowboy during the emer- vaqueros of African origin in seventeenth-century Mexico before gence of the US West but associated with Hispanic rather than becoming an iconic practice among both charros and cowboys Anglo ethnicity. While marginalized during the nineteenth and over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Such acknowledge- early twentieth century, charro institutions in the Southwest e ment of the diverse origins of much of both cowboy and charro cul- charreadas, for example, in which teams of charros compete in ture in no way weakens the central contribution of this book, equestrian events e have more recently undergone a renaissance though. Rather, it unlocks opportunities for the study of relations between charro associations and such African American groups as R. Kitchin et al. / Journal of Historical Geography 67 (2020) 91e107 105 the Compton Cowboys of California and the Trail Riders of luxury good and certainly not essential for survival. Yet a survey Louisiana. of the Ming dynasty (1368e1644), which has the most complete re- cords of foreign embassies of all the early dynasties, indicates that Andrew Sluyter nearly every single one of the foreign envoys to China requested Louisiana State University, USA and received gifts of silk and was allowed to trade for silk as well. E-mail address: [email protected]. No other product comes as close in the lists of gifts to foreigners. Removal of ‘silk’ from its pedestal as an important product in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2019.12.006 Eurasian interactions may not be necessary. There are always quibbles about coverage in a book. It is, in this case, surprising that Rabban Sauma, the first attested voyager from China to reach Europe is not mentioned, especially since he traveled Silk Roads: Peoples, Cultures, Landscapes, Susan Whitfield (Ed.). during one of the heights of the Silk Roads trade and since Marco University of California Press, Berkeley (2019). 480 pages, Polo, a contemporaneous traveler, is repeatedly cited. Another US$65.00 hardcover omission is Johan Elverskog's book Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road (2010), which offers a comprehensive view of religions along Here is a lovely coffee table book on the Silk Roads, with the Silk Roads but is not cited. splendid illustrations of maps, objects, peoples, arts and crafts, ar- Yet these are minor issues and should not be viewed as tarnish- fi chitecture, and landscapes. The written texts are brief and generally ing Susan Whit eld's contributions to the study and popularization informative for the general reader. They are simple and provide of the Silk Roads. Her book Life Along the Silk Road (2015), which fi basic facts. Historians, geographers, art historians, and specialists consists of the stories of lightly ctionalized composites of individ- on cultural exchanges will not find much that is new in this volume. uals who traveled or played a role in the Silk Roads, is the most Yet the target audience consists of the non-professional average approachable and well-written popularization of the subject. This reader who will no doubt enjoy the beautiful illustrations. Peter latest book adds to her earlier contributions. Sellars, the renowned theater and opera director, wrote the fore- word for the book, another indication of the attempt to reach a Morris Rossabi wide audience. City University of New York, USA Students in geography, art history, and history courses will also E-mail address: [email protected]. profit from the maps and photographs of steppes, deserts, and other environments along the Silk Roads. Reproductions of the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2019.12.003 maps of Ferdinand Richthofen, al-Idrisi, Ptolemy, the Catalan Atlas, and the Ming dynasty's Da Ming hunyi tu, among others, are beau- tifully photographed. The double-page color map, drawn specif- ically for this volume, shows the various Silk Roads, but no date is The James Losh Diaries, 1802-1833: Life and Weather in Early given. Which date in history is being represented? Nineteenth Century Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Deborah Smith. The various sections in the book highlight specific objects that Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2019). the authors relate to a specific landscape of way of life. For example, 337 pages, £64.99 hardcover the Chinese ceramics, which were transported to Korea, Japan, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia by ship, are displayed and Weather diaries which offer fascinating insight into weather in discussed in the section on Seas and Skies. Coins and money are the past, have long attracted the attention of those interested in dealt with in the section on Rivers and Plains, which is generally the history of weather and regional climates. Often they provide appropriate, although Deserts and Oases and Steppes also used further information about the locality or region and reflect the in- money. Unfortunately, there are very few primary sources on com- terests of the individual who kept them. The value of James Losh's merce, including the mechanics and scale of trade and descriptions (1763e1833) diaries has long been recognised having been used by of merchants, which limits understanding of the Silk Roads. geographers. Although the main focus of his entries is the weather, More important for a general work on the Silk Road is the ethical he discusses political and social developments in Newcastle-upon- question, which many art historians ignore. One description of the Tyne more generally. Whilst previously studied and published in an great Buddhist cave site in Dunhuang states, without comment, abridged form, this book provides a complete transcription of his ‘The manuscripts from the hidden cave [in Dunhuang] were diaries covering the period January to May 1787 and 1802 to dispersed to collections worldwide by visiting archaeologists, 1833. They are held by the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical So- including the French Sinologist Paul Pelliot (1878e1945)’ (p. 138). ciety, a body which Losh was involved in establishing in 1793 (there Pelliot was a great Sinologist, but he simply carted out great trea- is a statute of him in the Library entrance); a further volume is held sures illegally and without compensation for the Chinese govern- by Carlisle City Library and Archives, a transcription of which is also ment. English, Japanese, American, German, Russian, and other included in this book. adventurers, explorers, archeologists, and scholars joined in the Chapter 1 provides a biographical introduction to Losh. Born at wholesale export (or should it be called smuggling?) of spectacular Woodside near Carlisle, he was educated at Trinity College, Cam- objects from Silk Road sites, which were then dispatched to collec- bridge, before pursuing a legal career. He considered joining the tions and museums in Europe, Japan, and the United States. This Church. A notable political reformer and Unitarian, his circle of volume misses a great opportunity to inform the general reader friends included Humphrey Davy and the Lakeland poets Robert about these purloined treasures. Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. He The book starts with the assertion that ‘There was no ‘Silk Road’’ moved to Jesmond near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1798 from where and that ‘slaves, horses, semi-precious stones, metals, pots, musk, he made his observations, playing a prominent role in politics and medicines, glass, furs, and fruits’ were also traded (p. 15). To be was influenced by developments in science and technology. His sure, as I have noted elsewhere, the local markets, which required notes reflect his interests more widely in the state of agriculture, only short-distance travel, dealt with essential products. Silk is a gardening and horticulture such as harvests and crop prices, the